Layered clothing is a manner of dressing using multiple garments that are worn on top of each other. Some of the layers have different, largely non-overlapping, functions. Using more or fewer layers, or replacing one layer but not others, allows for flexible clothing to match the needs of each situation. Two thin layers can be warmer yet lighter than one thick layer, because the air trapped between layers serves as thermal insulation.
Layered clothing is particularly relevant in cold climates, where clothing must at the same time transfer moisture, provide warmth, and protect from wind and rain. In a hot and dry climate, clothes have very different functional requirements: they must block the radiation from the Sun, and allow for sufficient air circulation. Therefore, layered clothing in the sense used in this article is largely irrelevant to hot and dry climates.
Outdoor and sports wear manufacturers favor layered clothing because, among other reasons, it allows them to offer so-called "technical" or "functional" clothes which are optimized for the particular demands of a specific layer. Such clothes are often made of advanced synthetic materials, and can be expensive.
Contents |
Usually at least three layers are identified as follows:
Often clothes combine two adjacent layers, as in the case of warm undergarments that provide both comfort and insulation.
The purpose of the inner layer is to draw the sweat away from the skin to the next layers, which makes the wearer feel warmer and more comfortable. The transfer of moisture happens due to capillary action. This is sometimes called wicking, and thus the used materials are called wicking materials. When moisture has moved from the skin into (nonabsorbent) clothing, it has more surface area and will evaporate faster. If a piece of clothing does not transfer moisture well, it is not strictly an inner layer garment at all, but simply a comfortable mid-layer garment.
The mid layer is needed in cold weather to provide additional insulation. The use of multiple thin layers facilitates adjustment of warmth. The mid layer should be more loose-fitting than the inner layer, as this leaves insulating air between the layers. However, if best possible moisture transfer is desired, too great a gap between any adjacent layers of clothing may reduce the moisture transfer by capillary action from one piece of clothing to another. On the other hand, very loose-fitting layers can allow more removal of moisture (and heat) via air circulation.
The outermost clothes are called the shell layer, but only if they block wind or water, or have good mechanical strength. Ideally the shell layer lets moisture through to the outside (that is, is breathable), while not letting wind and water pass through from the outside to the inside. While this is enabled to some degree by modern materials, even the best and most expensive materials involve a trade-off between breathability and water- and wind resistance.
If heavy sweating is expected, one should avoid wearing any shell layer garments unless their protective properties are essential. For example, when one is jogging, no shell layer is likely to be able to transfer enough moisture to keep the wearer feeling dry. Instead, one should consider using sufficiently warm mid layer clothes.
The term Soft Shell is increasingly used to describe garments that combine partial water resistance with partial wind breaking ability. Soft shell fabrics come in numerous varieties with many garments offering a combination, such as a wicking layer. In many cases insulation is combined in an attempt to replace several layers with a single highly flexible one.
As the intensity of exercise or environmental conditions change, the amount or quality of layers worn should be changed. In particular, if clothes become wet from sweating during heavy exercise, they can be much too cold during the following period of rest. Below are two basic strategies for this problem.
Some clothes feature adjustable vents, such as below armpits. The positioning and design of the vents allow for area specific cooling while only marginally reducing exterior moisture resistance.
Removing the shell layer during heavy exercise can pose problems if the clothes underneath lack required mechanical strength or water proofing. In such situations, using a mid layer with enough of the required shell layer properties can be a good choice.
Combining different garments in layers can be used to create a variety of outfits. This provides similar practical benefits to practical layering, in that the wearer can shed layers according to changes in temperature, and is also a way of making use of clothing to produce different looks and mix colours in various ways.[2]
Dressing in layers probably dates back many years, perhaps many centuries, but its recent revival in fashion stems from the 1960s and 1970s when the hippies or street people, so called bums, discovered that layering was inexpensive, very effective, and comfortable. By the early 1970s a number of entertainers had adopted the dress and it has spread to many other walks of life since that time, largely because it has proven to be quite effective.